You don't belong here.

Spirit jerked up his muzzle from where he was resting it on the ground as the words echoed through his wandering thoughts.

Those same words had taunted him mercilessly the last time he had come here. But now… the tone had changed. Those four words didn't sound like a jeer. They sounded like a warning.

You should not be here.

How did I get here? Spirit groaned to himself for what seemed like the hundredth time. Could I have come here by accident? Some long-delayed effect of my grief? Is my power out of control again? He let out a long breath and lifted his gaze upwards, towards the twinkling stars. Not a single puff of cloud tainted the darkened sky.

No, he decided. I didn't feel anything. And it was… blue. I've never created a blue portal before. But what if…? The stallion's body suddenly went rigid, ears pricking stiffly forward, eyes open wide.

What if someone created that portal to bring me here? But… why?

Elsa picked up her skirt as she stepped through the deep snow. The morning light reflected off the crests of snow, shining directly into the queen's eyes and making her head ache. She shielded her eyes with a hand, then ducked into the thin forest of pines, their branches heavy laden with snow.

The trolls can help me. They'll know what to do. She took another step, the snow freezing into a hard crystal surface beneath her feet. Hopefully.

It had been many years since she had last seen the small, but wise creatures with skin of stone, but she remembered it vividly. Too vividly. She remembered the full moon, reflecting off the winter's snow and making it as bright as day outdoors. She remembered Anna waking her up and begging her to join her outside and build a snowman. She remembered… Elsa clamped down on the memory. What she needed to remember was where the trolls lived, the location of their valley.

Suddenly she heard the four-beat thump of hooves in the snow. A horse. No, two horses.

Her eyes darted around the pine grove. Was it one of the men?

"I mean, how in the world are we ever going to find Bjørvig? I mean, yeah, 'due north' and all that, but what do we do when we get there?"

A moment of silence, then she heard the voice again. It sounded like a boy, one whose voice had not yet fully deepened. "Well, yeah, I guess, but what if they have no idea where he is? What do we do then? I've got a feeling-"

Elsa jumped back slightly she caught sight of an odd looking group. First was a golden horse, skinnier than the fjord horses she had seen, and with a long unkempt black mane and tail. Sitting atop the stallion was the boy, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old. Following alongside was a golden brown and white mare.

The young queen drew back and ducked behind a pine tree as the grew closer. She took a long breath, trying to steady her beating heart, but snow began drifting down around her.

Conceal, don't feel; conceal, don't feel, she chanted silently, closing her eyes.

Suddenly she felt a puff of warm breath on her neck.

Elsa shrieked and spun around, ice shooting out of her palms and piercing a nearby tree. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the brown and white mare, limbs spread apart, eyes wide. The boy was standing a few feet away, his mouth hanging open. Elsa slowly lowered her palms, her heart leaping into her throat as she realized what she had almost done.

"Just get away," she told the horse, trying and failing to keep her voice steady. "Go. Go away!" The last two words came out as a sob.

"Uh... Queen Elsa?" the boy cautiously stepped out from behind a tree.

Elsa whipped her head towards him, her braid slapping against her shoulder. "How do you know my name?" she demanded, then realized he must have come to the coronation.

After taking another long breath, Elsa drew herself up, and folded her hands, trying to compose herself. The boy looked neither aggressive nor frightened, just a little nervous. There was no need to get excited. "I am sorry. Yes, I am Queen Elsa." The words seemed strange coming from her mouth. "Who-who are you?"

"I-I'm Hiccup, and these are my... horses Spirit and Rain."

Hiccup... what an odd name. And to have two horses with him, yet no one else in sight... what was he doing, out here on the lone mountain?

"I've met your sister, Anna," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"You've met Anna? Was she going back to Arendelle?" Elsa blurted out the question, then winced at how desperate she sounded.

"Uh, no... that was yesterday, and she was going to go see you," Hiccup said, squinting a little as a sunbeam poked through the veil of trees. The mare, Rain, was standing a little ways back, glancing at her warily. Spirit gave a nicker and touched her mane with his muzzle.

Elsa looked down for a second, guilt twisting her stomach. "I'm sorry," she whispered, both to Anna, and to the mare. She raised her voice slightly, glancing back up, "Well, if she has any sense she'll go back to Arendelle. Goodness knows I can't go back. Not after what I've done..." she shook her head, a lump rising in her throat. "I can't believe the Nightmares followed me here."

"Did you say Nightmares?" Hiccup asked quickly, all but bounding through the snow, quickly closing the gap between them. Elsa winced in spite of herself. "Black sand horses?"

Elsa's breath caught in her throat. "Y-yes," she stammered, feeling a shock of cold hit her center. "H-how did you-"

"It's a long story," Hiccup interrupted her. He let out a breath and looked away, scratching his head. "A really long story. And we... we don't even know half of it. To put it simply, we're trying to find this town, Bjørvig."

"I've heard of that town. I... I could help you get there. But..." she gestured to the tree with ice driven through it's center.

Hiccup gave a short laugh. "Queen Elsa, I train dragons for a living. This... I'm used to stuff like this. Well... sorta."

"Wait... WHAT?"


A/N: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry updates have been so slow. I'm not giving up on this story, though! I'm going to try to get a chapter out within two weeks, but I'm nearing a blank spot in my outline, so I may have to stop and work on that.